Advanced PCB assembly plays a critical role in the medical and healthcare industries. By allowing for the miniaturization of electronic components/devices, today’s PCB assembly has made it possible to develop smaller, and more portable medical devices. This has helped to augment patient care and administer treatment in a variety of settings, including hospitals, healthcare facilities, elderly care centers, and homes.
As the world continues to modernize and technology advances, the medical field is finding an ever-increasing number of applications for printed circuit boards (PCBs). Would you like to know more about the areas of the medical field that got better with highly precise and miniaturized PCB assemblies?
3 Medical Areas That Have Greatly Improved With Highly Reliable PCB Assembly
There are many areas in the medical industry where modern PCB assembly has helped in transforming the way things are done compared to before. Here are four specific examples of how today’s compact or miniaturized PCB assembly has revolutionized the industry:
- Medical Implants: One of the most significant areas that has witnessed the widespread use of modern PCB assembly are medical implants. It has enabled a whole range of advances and improvements, including smaller implants that are less invasive to insert, more durable implant designs that last longer in the body, and more efficient implants due to precise construction.
- Mobile Health: Mobile health (mHealth) is a rapidly advancing field that uses mobile technology to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals. One of the most notable applications of mHealth is in the medical industry, where it has the potential to revolutionize the delivery of care. One key area where mHealth is having a major impact is in the area of point-of-care (POC) testing, where diagnostic tests are performed at the patient’s bedside, rather than in a central laboratory. By miniaturizing and integrating key components, PCB assembly is helping to create smaller, more portable, and more affordable POC devices.
- Wearable Medical Devices (WMDs): Today’s medical industry is adopting new ways of diagnosing and treating patients. One such example for the same is Wearable Medical Devices (WMDs). These are devices that are worn on the body and often used to monitor vital signs or provide treatment. While WMDs have been around for some time, their popularity has grown in recent years thanks to advances in sensor and miniaturization technologies. Here comes the relevance of highly reliable PCB assembly as it allows for the creation of small, lightweight, and reliable circuits that can be used in these devices. Without PCB assembly, these devices would be much larger and less effective.
Top 5 Requirements for Medical Grade PCBs
Medical electronics demands higher standards than most other industries when it comes to circuit boards as lives will be literally at stake if something goes wrong. To ensure that medical-grade PCBs are up to the task, there are a few key requirements that must be met as follow:
- The manufacturing of medical-grade PCBs demands the most stringent precision. Careful attention must be paid throughout the entire manufacturing process to ensure that the most exacting standards are met.
- Medical electronics are mostly used in demanding situations. Hence they should be made to withstand extreme temperatures, humidity, and other conditions.
- Since medical electronics are constantly being used and abused, their circuit boards must be durable and be able to withstand a lot of wear and tear.
- They must be made from materials that are non-toxic and safe for use in medical applications.
- They must be able to withstand frequent sterilization and wash-down procedures.
The medical industry relies on highly reliable PCBs for advanced diagnosis and treatments. As more and more demands are placed upon the healthcare sector, these boards become even more important in order to accommodate faster, more accurate results. Dedicated PCB manufactures like Rigiflex provide solutions that meet the high standards of such an important field. By offering consistent performance, quality construction and innovative features, they ensure that medical electronics will meet any growing demand set by modern medicine.
